After the initial shock of an election call has worn off, Canadians are brushing up on the issues and heading off to the polls.
Ridings across B.C. have seen a sharp rise in the number of voters at advance polls.
Over four days of advance voting, preliminary numbers show that 804,116 British Columbians cast their ballot, up from 710,107 in 2019 – a 13.3 per cent increase. Nationwide, 5.8 million Canadians cast their ballot, an 18.5 per cent increase from the 2019 election.
ALSO READ: Advance voting turnout up 13% in B.C. since 2019: Elections Canada
Canadians are now past the time where they can request mail-in ballots but there is still time to send them in or drop it off at the Elections Canada office in your riding.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. across Greater Victoria on Sept. 20. Heading into the election call, the Liberals had 155 seats in Parliament, followed by the Conservatives with 119, Bloc Quebecois with 32, NDP with 24 and Greens with two. There were five independent MPs and one vacant seat. A total of 170 seats are needed for a majority.
READ MORE: ELECTION NEWS
Will you be voting for a different party in this election than you did in 2019?
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